Bulbs are some of the easiest and most dramatic flowers you can add to your landscape and containers, and you can make them even more spectacular when you create layers of bulbs for lush growth and bursts of brilliant color, month after month. But the number one complaint we hear about bulbs is that squirrels and other critters gobble them up right away. So here are some tips on proper bulb planting, and ways to deter garden pests.
Many people think that as cooler autumn temperatures creep in, it’s time to stop gardening and start putting our gardens to bed for the winter. Not so! Fall is an ideal time for planting. The weather is cool but the soil is still warm enough for root development, daylight is gentler, and autumn rains typically keep the soil nicely moist. Trees, shrubs, perennials, lawns, vegetables, lawn grass, and yes, even annuals, love this kind of weather.
Bulb Selection
Bulbs should be firm when selected, not mushy or soft, as that signals a dead or bad bulb. Occasionally mold may form on the outer skin, but can easily be brushed off and causes no harm to the bulb. Many bulbs will naturalize,...
Fall-planting bulbs are some of the easiest flowers to grow. With planning, and some patience, a novice gardener can create a spectacular spring display. As winter nears its end, the progression of color can create an eye-popping landscape that will make you the envy...
Are you looking for something new and unique to add to your perennial herb garden? Consider fall-blooming Saffron Crocus. Saffron is one of the most expensive herbs in the world because each delicate red stigma from the Crocus Sativa must be removed by hand...
This Fall, Think Spring.
Whether you are a gardener or not, by February, everybody in New England begins to crave catching a glimpse of the color green, especially the growing, living, emergance of spring green. The anticipation of seeing all the bright colored flowers that...
Dig. Drop. Done.
Are you looking for a new crop to try this year? Consider garlic, the stinking rose! Planting hardneck garlic in the fall will actually provide you with two different crops in early and mid summer: the first is garlic scapes and the...
Use spring, summer and fall blooming bulbs as fillers. I pack spring blooming bulbs Tulips, Daffodils, Fritillaria, Camassia, Allium, Erythronium (trout lily), Martagon; summer blooming bulbs Asiatic, Trumpet, Oriental, Orientpet; and fall blooming bulbs Crocus and Colchicum in among my perennials and shrubs to...